Display holder for socks or other articles



June 17, 1930.

W. H. WHITE DISPLAY HOLDER FOR SOCKS OR OTHER ARTICLES Fild May 18, 1928 r w, .W 6 .v.

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Patented June 17, 1930 UNITED STAT WILLIAM H. WHITE, on EAST RUTHERFORD, new JnRs Y, Assrenon To REGAL. SHOE COMPANY, or WHITMAN, MASSACHUSETTS, A oonPoRATioNor MASSACHUSETTS DISPLAY HOLDER FOR SOCKS OR OTHER ARTICLES Application filed May 18,

This invention relates to devices for displaying and holding socks or similar articles, such as neckties, and is intended to provide a device of this kind which will permit a bundle of socks to be displayed for inspection and examination on a store counter, while making provision for keeping them in an orderly pile and preventing the surreptitious abstraction of the articles from the pile. I

It is customary in haberdasheries and shoe stores to display mens socks and other similar articles in a bundle or pile resting upon the counter to attract the customers attention and invite his inspection. However, the

turning over of the articles for display results in scattering the pile and often times, when the salesmans back is turned, it is found that articles have been surreptitiously removed from the pile without detection.

The present invention embraces a holder for such articles which Serves to maintain them at all times in an orderly pile, while allowing complete accessibility for inspection and, at the same time, providing means for clamping the articles at one end of the pile firmly to the holder by a locking clamp so that individual articles may not be slipped out of the pile without releasing and raising the clamp, after which the clamp would need to be restored to clamping position to escape not-ice of the salesman. All of this would require sufficient time to so largely increase the chance of detection as to practically insure against theft, while making convenient provision for the removal from the pile by the salesman of the articles selected.

Generally, the invention comprises a bottom board or plate serving as a platform on which the articles are piled and provided on opposite sides with suitable guides for keeping the articles in position, when piled one above the other, combined with a clamping member arranged to extend across one end of the pile and thus clamp the corresponding ends of the articles securely to the bottom plate, while permitting the convenient release of theseends for withdrawal of any article in the pile.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated a simple and convenient construc- 1923. Serial No. 278,863.

device showing-a pile of socks clamped in position to the holder. p

7 Fig.2 is a vertical cross section on the plane of the clamping member. i p

In the form of the invention illustrated,I provide a bottomboard or plate 1, preferably provided with buttons 1 of rubber or of felt to avoid marring the showcase or counter, which forms a platform upon which the articles,"i n this case socks, are piled one upon another.

7 At opposite'sides of the board are provided upright guides which, in the present case, are of skeleton formation being. constructed of bent wiresQ spaced apart a proper distanceto accommodate the articles to be displayed and secured firmly to the bottom plate by means of nuts 3. V I y The clamping member 6 comprises a cross bar,whose opposite ends are provided with open notches, as at e and'6 to leave forked ends adapted to engage the upright members of a preferably U-shaped clamping guide and support 4:. The extensions embracing the slot 6 are long enough to receive a cam lever 7 fulcrumed'upon a short transverse pin 8 so as to clampor bind the transverse clamping bar firmly at any desired level according to the height of that end of the pile of articles to be displayed. The U-shaped form of guide for the clamping member is preferred because it prevents the accidental loss of the clamping. bar and also prevents springing the uprights out of parallelism while permitting the removal and replacement of the cross-bar by the mere removal of the fulcral pin 8 which carries the cam lever.

In practice the socks neatly folded and placed ina pile have their'cuff ends disposed between the two members of the clamping guide with the foot portions doubled over in the usual manner and placed between the side guides 2. The clamping bar'G is then pressed down tightly against the cud ends of the socks and clampedin position by forcing the handle end of the cam lever downward into tight gripping engagement with the guide i wire. In this position it would be very I diflicult to remove one or more articles from the pile Without disarranging the remainder of the pile to such an extent as to be instantly noticed by the clerk. On the other hand, the socks can be turned over for inspection of.

every individual pair in the pile and, by

reason of their ends being'clamped and because of the position of side guides the pile of socks isalways kept in an orderly arrangement in spite of repeated inspection and handling by the customer.

The use of lateral guides or positioning members for preserving the pile formation is preferred, because the skeleton construction, while serving the purposes of positioning the articles, also exposes to view for display purposes the articles themselves, as arranged in the pile.

What I claim is:

1. A display holder embracing in its construction a base member, ubstantially parallel sideframes secured to said base in spaced relation to position interposed articles in piledrela-tion, clamping means arranged near one end of the base and comprising'parallel uprights spaced apart to receive the articles to be displayed and" a vertically movable cross-bar provided. withopen slotted ends dimensioned to slidingly embrace said uprights, and a cam lever pivotally mounted in one of the slottedends in position to firmly lock the clamping bar against displacement from clamping position at different levels on said upright.

2. A display holder embracing in its construction a base member, side positioning members for maintaining interposed articles in piled relation while allowing inspection of the individual articles, means for preventing the withdrawal of any of said articles from the pile arranged at one end portion of the base and embracing parallel spaced uprights whose upper ends are joined by across connecting member, a cross-bar having its opposite ends slotted to slidinglyembrace said uprights, one of said slotted ends being provided with a transverse pivot pin outside of the adjacent upright, and a'cam lever mounted on said pin with its cam portion adapted to engage the adjacent face of said uprlght to lock the cross-bar in firm clamping rela-' tion with the articles placed beneath it.

In wltness whereof, I have subscribed the above specification.

WILLIAM H. WHITE. 

